Battle of Belgium order of battle

This is the order of battle for the Battle of Belgium, a World War II battle between German and Western Allies in Belgium on 10–28 May 1940.

Allied armed forces

Belgian air service

The Belgian Air Service (Aéronautique Militaire Belge) comprised three main aerial regiments:^[1]

1er Régiment d'Aéronautique (1st Air Regiment - Observation and Army Cooperation aircraft)
- 1er Groupe (Fairey Fox)
- 2e Groupe (Fairey Fox)
- 3e Groupe (Fairey Fox)
- 4e Groupe (Fairey Fox)
- 5e Groupe (Renard R.31)
- 6e Groupe (Renard R.31)
2e Régiment d'Aéronautique (2nd Air Regiment - Fighter aircraft)
- 1er Groupe (Gloster Gladiator & Hawker Hurricane)
- 2e Groupe (Fiat CR.42)
- 3e Groupe (Fairey Fox)
3e Régiment d'Aéronautique (3rd Air Regiment - Reconnaissance and Bomber aircraft)
- 1er Groupe (Fairey Fox)
- 3e Groupe (Fairey Battle & Fairey Fox)

The Aéronautique Militaire Belge was reinforced by the Royal Air Force:

RAF Advanced Air Striking Force (Air Vice-Marshal P H L Playfair)
No. 14 Group RAF (Group Captain P.F. Fullard)

Belgian Army

The strength of the Belgian Army extended to seven Corps, a Cavalry Corps and several ad hoc units and fortresses. In the following overview, the position of each division at the start of hostilities on May 10, 1940 is given in parentheses.

I Corps - Lieutenant-General Alexis Vander Veken
- 4th Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General René de Grave (Albert Canal: sector Diepenbeek-Eigenbilzen)
- 7th Infantry Division - Major General Eugène Van Trooyen (Albert Canal: sector Eigenbilzen-Lixhe)
II Corps - Lieutenant-General Victor Michem
- 6th Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General Emile Janssens (Albert Canal: sector Eindhout-Beringen)
- 9th Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General Richard Vander Hofstadt (Albert Canal: sector Herentals-Eindhout)
III Corps - Lieutenant-General Joseph de Krahe
- 2nd Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General Auguste Colpin (Fortified Position Luik: sector Chaudfontaine-Engis)
- 3rd Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General Gaston Lozet (Fortified Position Luik: sector Chertal-Chaudfontaine)
IV Corps - Lieutenant-General André Bogaerts
- 12th Infantry Division - Major General Constant De Wulf (Fortified Position Antwerp: sector Sint Job-in't-Goor - Massenhoven)
- 15th Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General Baron Raoul de Hennin de Boussu-Walcourt (Albert Canal: sector Massenhoven - Herentals)
- 18th Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General Henri Six (Advance Position: sector Sint-Lenaerts - Dessel)
V Corps - Lieutenant-General Edouard Van Den Bergen
- 13th Infantry Division - Major General François Duthoy (Fortified Position Antwerp: sector Kapellen - Turnhout Canal)
- 17th Infantry Division - Major General Raoul Daufresne de la Chevalerie (Fortified Position Antwerp: sector Berendrecht - Kapellen)
VI Corps - Lieutenant-General Fernand Verstraeten
- 5th Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General Maurice Spinette (Transversal position: sector Halle - Ninove)
- 10th Infantry Division - Major General Joseph Leroy (KW Line: sector Leuven)
VII Corps - Lieutenant-General Georges Deffontaine
- 8th Infantry Division - Major General André Lesaffre (Fortified Position Namur)
- 2nd Division Chasseurs Ardennais - Major General François Ley (Meuse River: sector Engis - Andenne)
Cavalry Corps ^[2] - Lieutenant-General Knight Maximilien de Neve de Roden
- 1st Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General Walter Coppens (Albert Canal: sector Hasselt)
- 14th Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General Armand Massart (Albert Canal: sector Beringen - Stokrooie)
- 2nd Cavalry Division - Major General Joseph Beernaert (Demer/Gete Position)
- Group Ninitte - Major General Robert Ninitte (Advance Position: Dessel - Maasmechelen)
Group K - Lieutenant-General Maurice Keyaerts
- 1st Cavalry Division - Major General Victor Descamps (Advance Position Ardennes: Neufchateau)
- 1st Division Chasseurs Ardennais - Major General Werner Goffinet (Advance Position Ardennes: Sint-Hubert)
Army Reserve
- 11th Infantry Division - Major General Ivan Lebert (Camp Beverlo)
- 16th Infantry Division - Lieutenant-General Georges Van Egroo (Ghent Bridgehead)

French First Army Group

1st Army

German armed forces

Army Group B

Commanded by Colonel General Fedor von Bock

(Chief of Staff - Lt. Gen. Hans von Salmuth).
Sixth Army —Colonel General Walter von Reichenau
- (Chief of Staff - Maj. Gen. Friedrich Paulus).
- IV Corps - Gen.of Infantry Viktor von Schwedler
  - 15th Infantry Division - Maj. Gen. Ernst-Eberhard Hell (reserve)^[3]
  - 205th Infantry Division - Lt. Gen. Ernst Richter
- XI Corps- Lt. Gen. Joachim von Kortzfleisch
  - 7th Infantry Division - Maj. Gen. Eccard von Gablenz^[4]
  - 211th Infantry Division - Maj. Gen. Kurt Renner^{[dubious – discuss]}
  - 253rd Infantry Division - Lt.Gen. Fritz Kuhne^[5]
- IX Corps^[6]
- XVI Corps
  - 3rd Panzer Division^[7]
  - 4th Panzer Division^[7]
- XXVII Corps^[8]
Eighteenth Army — Georg von Küchler
- Reserves
  - 208th Infantry Division^[9]
  - 225th Infantry Division
  - 526th Infantry Division
- SS "Verfügungstruppe" Division
- 7th Airborne Division^[10]
- 22nd Air Landing Infantry Division
- 9th Panzer Division^[11]
- 207th Infantry Division
- X Corps^[6]
  - SS "Adolf Hitler" Division
  - 227th Infantry Division
  - 1st Cavalry Division
- XXVI Corps^[8]
  - 256th Infantry Division
  - 254th Infantry Division^[5]
  - SS "Der Führer" Division

Luftwaffe

The Luftwaffe order of battle for operations over Belgium:^[12]

IV. Fliegerkorps (General der Flieger, Generaloberst Alfred Keller)
- Lehrgeschwader 1 (Stab. I., II., III., IV. Düsseldorf)
- Kampfgeschwader 30 (Stab. I., II., at Oldenburg III. at Marx)
- Kampfgeschwader 27 (III. at Wunstorf)
Jagdfliegerführer 2 (Oberst Kurt-Bertram von Döring)
- Jagdgeschwader 26 (Stab., II at Dortmund, III. at Essen-Mühlheim)
- Jagdgeschwader 3 (III. at Hopsten)
- Jagdgeschwader 51 (Stab. at Bönninghardt, I. at Krefeld)
- Jagdgeschwader 27 (II. Bönninghardt)
- Jagdgeschwader 20 (I. at Bönninghardt)
VIII. Fliegerkorps (Generalmajor Wolfram von Richthofen)
- Jagdgeschwader 27 (Stab.,I.)
- Jagdgeschwader 21
- Jagdgeschwader 1 (I.)
- Sturzkampfgeschwader 76 (I.)
- Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 (Stab., I., III.)
- Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (Stab., I, II.)
- Lehrgeschwader 1 (IV(St.))
- Lehrgeschwader 2 II.(Shl)
- Kampfgeschwader 77 (Stab., I., II., III.)

Citations

^ Aéronautique Militaire Belge Order of Battle
^ Belgian Cavalry Corps Order of Battle, 10 May 1940^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Mitcham 1985, p. 52.
^ Mitcham 1985, p. 46.
^ ^a ^b Mitcham 1985, p. 185.
^ ^a ^b Mitcham 1995, p. 505.
^ ^a ^b Mitcham 1985, p. 352.
^ ^a ^b Mitcham 1995, p. 509.
^ Mitcham 1985, p. 163.
^ Mitcham 1985, p. 422.
^ Mitcham 1985, p. 360.
^ Hooton 2007, pp. 45-48.

References

Mitcham, Samuel. Hitler's Legions: The German Army Order of Battle, World War II. Dorset Press, New York. 1985. ISBN 0-88029-214-8 (Formerly ISBN 0-8128-2992-1)
Hooton, E.R. (2007). Luftwaffe at War; Blitzkrieg in the West. London: Chevron/Ian Allan. ISBN 978-1-85780-272-6.
Gunsburg, Jeffrey A., 'The Battle of the Belgian Plain, 12–14 May 1940: The First Great Tank Battle', The Journal of Military History, Vol. 56, No. 2. (Apr., 1992), pp. 207–244.
Belgian Cavalry Corps Order of Battle, 10 May 1940^{[permanent dead link]}
Aéronautique Militaire Belge Order of Battle

External links

[1] De Achttiendaagse Veldtocht, containing a diary of every single unit participating in the battle of Belgium
British Expeditionary Force As Organised on 10 May 1940 at CARL

[1] Aéronautique Militaire Belge Order of Battle

[2] Belgian Cavalry Corps Order of Battle, 10 May 1940^{[permanent dead link]}

[Mitcham_1985,_p._52-3] Mitcham 1985, p. 52.

[Mitcham_1985,_p._46-4] Mitcham 1985, p. 46.

[Mitcham_1985,_p._185-5] Mitcham 1985, p. 185.

[Mitcham_1995,_p._505-6] Mitcham 1995, p. 505.

[Mitcham_1985,_p._350-7] Mitcham 1985, p. 352.

[Mitcham_1995,_p._509-8] Mitcham 1995, p. 509.

[Mitcham_1985,_p._163-9] Mitcham 1985, p. 163.

[Mitcham_1985,_p._422-10] Mitcham 1985, p. 422.

[Mitcham_1985,_p._360-11] Mitcham 1985, p. 360.

[12] Hooton 2007, pp. 45-48.

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